The Nightmare Begins (Again)
by GirlwithHeadphones88
Summary: The name "Guertena" brought mysterious memories she could never place- They were full of horror and fear, but most of all, a man named Garry. She has to go into the Fabricated World to save him, and if that's all it takes, she'll willing go in head first to do it. Garry X Older Ib. Collab with AnimeCraze8!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello people out there! GirlwithHeadPhones88 here! And this story is a collab with AnimeCraze8!**

**We are HUGE Ib X Garry fans and we hope you enjoy it!**

**AnimeCraze8: Hi guys, this is AnimeCraze8! Just wanted to add a little part in the authors note. I'm so happy the first chapter is uploaded, and I hope you all enjoy it! Ah, this is probably not a good time, but... of any of you like Black Butler, and the pairing Ciel X OC, please check out my story Memorial Scars! And like I always say- Please review! :)**

**GwHP88: And please check out my DuRaRaRa fanfic! The pairing is Izaya X OC!**

**And with that...our story BEGINS!**

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If you asked Ib what she regretted most in her life, it was that she wasn't able to save him.

It happened nine years ago, when she went with her parents to an art gallery filled to the brim with the works of the famous artist Guertena. Back then, the name had brought curiosity and interest into her mind. She had been nine then, and went on in to the gallery by herself, with permission by her parents.

She remembers she had fallen into the haunting world of Guertena. It was filled with headless mannequins, decapitated heads with bleeding eyes, hair-raising, creepy dolls, and live paintings, almost all with killing intent. There were chances to die at every corner, and they barely made it out with their heart still beating.

The only reason she thought she was able to stay sane inside of that nightmare was because of a special person she had met. Without him, she would have probably gone insane. Hell, if they didn't have each other, they would've _both_ gone completely ballistic.

That person's name…was Garry.

Garry had the loveliest, dark lavender hair, and a comfortable, warm coat that she wore as a blanket once. Even though he was scared a little bit too easily at that place (even though the toughest person would be scared to death if he ever entered), he was someone you could rely on. He saved her life more than once, and he cared for her. She was certain she fell in love with him during the time they were together.

The unfortunate thing was… he didn't make it out with her.

She was the only one that made it out. He had sacrificed himself for her welfare, and she despised herself for it. There was nothing she wanted more than to save him and get out together.

That's why she wanted to go back to the gallery…And see if she could save him. She didn't care if the chance was only slim—she was going to take her chances, no matter how slim or reckless it was.

She was on her way to the Guertena art gallery that had been up for about twelve years now. She also wanted to go to the gallery because it was there was only one week left until she left for her art college, and she wanted to see the beautiful paintings (of the normal gallery, of course) before her departures. There was another reason, too… Whenever someone mentioned the name "Guertena," fear and dread is brought into the depths of her mind and an uncomfortable churning begins in her stomach. There was also this nagging thing in the back of her mind, something that she couldn't remember.

She took a deep breath to calm herself as she opened the windows of her sports car. The strong wind flew into her face as her long, chocolate brown hair flowed behind her. She turned to the radio station for classical music, and luckily, tranquil piano music was on. She listened to it, savoring every note, her eyes still strictly locked onto the road ahead of her.

After about ten more minutes of driving and stopping at red traffic lights, she had reached the museum. She glanced at it as she drove over to its large, half-filled parking lot on the side. She was blessed with good luck as she found a parking spot that was the close to the building.

She turned the key to stop the car, and set it into place. She unlocked the doors and pushed the car door open to step out. The sunlight and warmness from the bright star hit her back as she set foot on the concrete. She gulped as she stiffly walked toward the entrance. Even though she was eighteen, and it had been nearly a decade since she had been here, her stomach still churned nauseously. She was starting to have second thoughts about going back in, but a small voice in the back of her head ordered to go in and face her fears, so she did.

When she entered, she was handed a pamphlet, similar to the one she had gotten nine years ago. She looked through it, to find a new painting, _"The Forgotten Portrait"._ _Huh, I don't remember this ever being here before… _Then, a sudden desire burst into her mind as she continued to stare at it. She didn't know why she wanted to see it, but she had this odd feeling she did. She just couldn't place it.

_I have to find that painting._

She burst into action as she started running all over, her eyes frantically looking everywhere for it. Some workers told her to slow down and walk, and the visitors were giving her really weird looks. She didn't care. She wouldn't stop until she found what she was looking for.

_Is that it?! No, that's no it…_

_It has to be here somewhere…_

_Where is it?!_

_I have to find it!_

_It HAS to be HERE!_

…_Is that… It is!_

_It's right HERE!_

She stopped abruptly in front of a painting she had seen in the pamphlet. It was a realistic painting of a man with purple hair, and he looked like he was asleep, as his eyes were shut. He had a coat on, and his hands held a wilting, blue rose. It seemed too beautiful to be real…

Then it hit her.

That wasn't just a painting of just anyone.

It was a picture of _Garry._

The realization hit her so hard her eyes started to burn painfully with tears, and a sob broke out of her dry throat. She had trouble breathing normally, her breaths coming out short and ragged. Her hot tears trailed down her cheeks, her eyes wet.

"G-Garry…" She choked out as she stared at the painting of her lost friend. She slowly started to drift off into her mind because of anxiety, but a loud bang in the distance brought her back to reality.

The first thing she noticed as she looked around was that she was completely alone.

_Ah,_ she thought as she quickly wiped her drenched eyes with the sleeves of her red shirt. _I see. _She suddenly realized that there was only one chance to save Garry, and she could possibly lose her life doing it.

She was going to have to go back_ there_. If she had a choice, she wouldn't go back, but this time, it was different. The circumstances had changed drastically, and she knew what was going on. She walked toward the floor painting "Abyss of the Deep". The water seemed so real, so dark and mysterious. The sea creature stared at her with its one, unmoving eye.

With no hesitation, she took a step into the painting, and then jumped into the horrors of the "Fabricated World". If this was going to save Garry, she was going to go headfirst without any doubts and do whatever it took to save him.

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**So, what did you guys think?**

**please review! **

**No flames though!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2~!**

**Very excited for your reviews! Enjoy!**

**GwHP88: Please check out my Izaya X OC Story~! After that, I'm planning to do a SHIZAYA fanfic. It's my OTP.**

**And with that...We have...Chapter 2!**

**Enjoy~!**

**~AnimeCraze8 & GirlwithHeadPhones88**

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She officially was back in the fabricated world for round two.

Ib looked around and surveyed her surroundings suspiciously, looking for anything dangerous or out of the ordinary that she expected to be in this living nightmare, but it positively normal—for the most part. It was like last time she had entered this world. She had entered by walking down an array of stairs, and on either sides of her had paintings hung on its walls. What was different was what on the paintings, and this time, it wasn't a normal walkway, it was a door for each side.

On her right, there was a red door the color of her eyes and a painting of a girl that looked suspiciously like herself. The background was a mix of dark red and black, swirling together. She stared at the painting with her crimson eyes that matched the eyes of the girl on the painting that also looked around the same age as her. Her hands were empty and lay limply by her side. She glanced at the dark brown locks of the painting girl and thought it was identical to her. At that moment, it hit her.

_That girl in the painting is me! I'm so stupid, how could I not notice that?!_ She wondered suddenly. _But… Why am I in this painting? I shouldn't be here!_ She frowned in disapproval, and decided to look at the other side instead.

There was a blue door on the other side, and the painting on the wall was of a man that looked around the same age as her. He had purple hair and ragged coat on, and he was grasping a blue rose in his hands. The background was a swirl of dark blue and black, like an abyss of darkness. _Garry_, she thought uneasily. _I'll save you. Just please, wait for me_.

She turned around to the crimson red door, and began walking toward it, her heart thumping in her chest. She gulped as she laid her hand on the door handle, expecting something to pop out at every moment. The door handle was cold as ice, as if it had been locked in a cooler for a lifetime. She gripped it firmly and twisted it, swinging the door open. It was loud, and she flinched and whirled around in a circle, seeing if anything had happened. She left out a sigh of relief to see nothing was there.

She hesitantly walked through the walkway opened to her by the opened red door that she had just opened. Her footsteps were silent, since she was trying to keep as quiet as possible. When she had walked in, she heard the door slam behind her. She turned around to face the door, which was now closed. Her eyes widened in panic and she ran over and tried to open it, twisting door handle with all her might, and pushing on it with all of her strength, but it simply refused to open.

"This isn't good," She murmured to herself. Her hearing was at their peak point, trying to detect even the smallest of noises or movement. She locked eyes with the wall and noticed, in dripping red letters that looked suspiciously like blood, was written, **"BACK AGAIN, IB?"** She took deep, steady breaths to calm herself, and noticed on the other side of the room, there was a black, cracked vase set on a brown table that was blotched with blood. In the vase, there was a single, red rose. It seemed too beautiful to be real.

She walked toward it, and stood in front of it, her legs stuck together, planted on the floor. She stared intently at the red rose, checking for anything overly suspicious. She knew how this was going to work—it would be just like last time. The rose was her lifeline. She knew she wasn't going to get out of here without taking it.

She gulped and took the rose into her hand, being careful not to prick her fingers on the sharp spikes. As soon as she had taken it out completely, she felt something in her heart connect. She stared in horror at the rose, and realized their lives were now linked together.

"_**GIVE IT BACK TO ME, YOU THIEF! GIVE IT BACK, GIVE IT BACK TO ME!"**_

Her thoughts were interrupted abruptly by screaming. All of a sudden, a frightening creature rose out of the vase, somehow still keeping the vase from breaking. It was a grotesque, terrible creature that scared the living daylights out of her. It had an ugly, terrifying face she knew would haunt her memories. It was crying tears of blood out of its pitch-black eyes, and was screeching horribly with its fanged mouth lined with sharp teeth. Its hair was lashing everywhere, trying to rip her skin. Its hands had claws on them, which were sharp and lashing out at her also. One hand was gripping a blue key.

"_**YOU THIEF! YOU'RE GOING TO DIE FOR STEALING MY ROSE! GIVE IT BACK TO ME, GIVE IT BAAAAAAAACK!"**_ It screamed at her. She flinched and screamed and tried to move, but she couldn't move. Fear had rooted her to the spot, and her mind went into an insane state of panic. One of the hands lashed out and scratched her forearm, and Ib hissed angrily in pain, and clutched it with her hand. Then, another clawed hand came out to rip her face, and she screamed, waiting for the pain—

Miraculously, rose vines with blue roses on top sprouted at the speed of light from the vase, wrapping around the monster and puncturing it. It snagged the hand and pulled it back, stuffing it back into the vase. Ib stared and felt her legs come back to life. Then, a click in the background told her the door was unlocked. One of the rose vines threw her the blue key it had wrenched from the monster's hand, and she grabbed and sprinted out.

Once she was out, and slammed the door behind her and slumped against it, breathing so heavily it was like she had just run a mile in five seconds. Tears were pricked at the edges of her eyes, but she blinked them away. She placed her hand on her chest and felt it beating rapidly and it wasn't a light thump. She stared around at noticed her painting was different.

The painting of herself was changed. She was still in the picture; it was just that this time, she was holding a bright red rose in her hands. Ib's eyes darkened as she recalled she had the rose the in her other hand, and a searing pain in her arm brought attention to it. She winced and ripped off a little bit of the sleeve on her shirt to wrap it around the bleeding wound tightly. She began to feel a little dizzy because of all the blood she was losing at once, but her ambition to save Garry was so much stronger it was as if the dizziness wasn't even there.

She ran over to the blue door, remembering the blue key she had in hand. She shoved it into the lock, and twisted it, and heard a click. She took the key out and put it into her pocket. She opened the door, and walked inside, her rose tightly gripped. She felt the pain from the spikes on her hand puncture holes, but it was good to distract her.

There was a painting of a red lady on the right wall, and she seemed very beautiful. The only thing was that her eyes were fierce and dangerous, and seemed to be following Ib's movements. On the left wall, there was a painting of a blue lady. Its eyes mirrored the red lady and also seemed to be following her_. Crap_, Ib thought suddenly. _It's them._

_The lady in red and the lady in blue are here_.

She stared across the room and saw a blue door. Her instincts told her that it was also looked, and she was going to have to run past the painted ladies, get to the door without dying, unlock the door, open the door, and get to the next room in a short matter of time. I have to do this. If I die—no, she shook her head in her mind.

_I'm not going to die. If I'm not supposed to die, I won't die. I'll live for sure. She sighed silently, and thought, this place is already getting to me. My mind is already going crazy, but I can't afford to go crazy. My only goal is to save Garry, and that's going to keep me from losing myself completely._

She stared at the door, and her legs suddenly felt like they were being crushed_. No!_ Ib insisted. _Don't die out on me, you stupid legs!_ She took her chance, with the paintings watched her every move, and her legs feeling like blocks of led…

She ran.

She was running so fast she couldn't concentrate on anything else. Her legs were moving at top speed, and she swore she never ran so fast in her entire life. She could hear the lady in red and the lady in blue snarling and screeching behind her, and their rickety movements. She didn't dare look behind her—if she did that, she would most likely get even more injured, or even die.

She quickly screeched to a stop in front of the door, and while she did so, and swung open the door and sprinted it, slamming the door behind her. She felt a huge **thump**, and then another followed it. She suspected it was the painted ladies slamming into the door, and she was actually thankfully they were made that way. They couldn't open doors.

Ib thought she could finally rest, bringing her hands to place on her knees for support, but before she even placed them on, a headless mannequin with a bloody butcher's knife appeared out of nowhere and started running toward her. Ib screamed and began running for her life, not being able to move as fast, since she had just used a lot of her energy running from the painted ladies.

_I see what they were doing, Ib realized. They were there to deplete my energy, and if I reached the end, I would have to run away from the even faster mannequins with a lower energy source. This is just cruel…_

She tripped over a mannequin head. She probably would've noticed it if she had seen the horrifying blood tears flowing from its eyes. She jumped over it, and thanks to the clumsiness of the mannequin, it tripped over it. Unfortunately, the knife flew out of its hand. She ducked just in time, and barely dodged the knife from decapitating her head.

Just as she thought she would be able to run, another headless mannequin appeared with claws on its hands, and lashed out at her, similar to the monster in the rose vase. Her breath was stuck in her throat, and ran away, but was running in the direction of the fallen mannequin that had stood up again, with another knife in hand. She looked back and saw the other mannequin approached quickly, so she decided to run to the side and both of them crashed into each other.

_They may be menacing, but they're not the smartest of them all. I can use that._ She made them attack each other over and over again, ranging from the mannequin with the knife accidently cutting off the arm of the mannequin, and them lashing at each other. Eventually, they were cut up and unable to move at all.

_Well, I got them, and that's all that matters, she thought. Good thing I remembered they can actually open doors, so if I ran away, they would've opened the door and chased after me. I bet it would've been worse because there's probably something in the next room, now that I think about it. What's going to try and kill me next…?_

She swung open the door without any hesitation, and stepped right in. As soon as she entered, her scream got stuck in her dried up throat. The door slammed behind her with a click, indicating it was locked. So did the door in front of her.

The room was full of dolls.

She never remembered anything like this. She remembered bunnies, cute little bunnies—she didn't even remember it to the exact detail—but not this. Not these horrid, creepy dolls that seemed to stare into your soul and rip your heart out. Their grins seemed to be painted on with blood, and she had no doubts that Guertena had an endless supply of blood, no matter how fresh or old.

"_**FiNd ThE kEy, LiTtLe Ib~"**_ A taunting voice full of insanity rung in her ears. She gasped when she saw the doll in the painting begin to crawl out and hiss at her with its fangs and huge, bloodshot and red eyes. She began ripping open the dolls, and every time she ripped open one, her hands became tainted with a bit of blood and a scream ran through the room. She kept on ripping open the dolls, ripping, ripping, and ripping. The monster in the painting was almost out now, and she still couldn't find the key.

"**GYAAAAAAAA-!" **She screamed, her screams mixing in with the screams of the dolls she was ripping open. _Screams. Screams._ That's all she heard. The fear mixing in her with the panic and horror was sure to make her go simply insane. Her vision began to flash red and she swore she couldn't concentrate. Her legs couldn't hold her and she clutched her head in pain. She fell to the ground with a violent thump and screamed.

_**Her screaming.**_

_**Their screaming.**_

_**Her fear for her life.**_

_**Her fear of the monster that wanted to kill her.**_

_**The horror of the situation.**_

_**The horror of it all…**_

_**She risked her life for Garry, but in the end, willpower wasn't enough….**_

_**She was a failure…**_

_**She wouldn't be able to save him…**_

_**She just couldn't take it…**_

_**Her sanity would soon just…**_

_**Break.**_

"GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF! I'VE GOT THE KEY!" Another scream jumped in, but it was…You could say…different.

Wait. What?

She came back to the world and saw a doll standing in front of her, waving a key in its small hand. It wasn't one of those horrifying dolls. It looked normal. Sane. Helpful. Maybe even… Cute. It was actually pretty adorable. It had light brown strands of yarn hair, two normal black filled in circles for eyes, a small mouth, a cute button nose, and a short body wearing a pink skirt and a black tee-shirt over its stubby arms.

"Who…?" Ib tried to ask, but her throat hurt. It made her realize her screams were that terrified. "Get ahold of yourself, woman!" The little girl doll squeaked. "We've gotta get out of here! I'm truly a friend! Trust me; I hate these stupid buffoons that are supposed to be called 'dolls'. Dolls? Yeah, right. Anyway, get your ass moving and let's get outta of here!" She threw Ib the key and Ib barely caught it in her hands. She was a bit intrigued by this doll's personality, but the doll was the only chance she had.

She took up all her strength and pushed herself up from the ground and ran to the door. She unlocked it and just as the monster came out of the painting, she was out of the room of dolls and was safe.

She was panting, and a drop of sweat rolled down her sweaty neck. _First, it was the vase monster. Then, it was the painted ladies. Then the mannequins. Then the dolls. What next?_ She breathed and felt something tug on her pant leg. She looked down to see the doll that had helped her. "Are you OK?" The doll asked her. Ib raised an eyebrow, and asked, "You didn't seem so worried before… But I'm really grateful you helped me. Thank you. I owe you my life."

"It's nothing. I even helped G—I mean, well, I'll tell you later."

"Huh?"

"N-nothing! So, are you sure you're alright? People have actually been in here before, and you're the first to survive."

"…Is that where he gets his large supply of blood?"

"Uh… Yes?"

"Sorry, that was a weird question… Anyway, I'm fine."

"Good, because even after they get out from that room, some can't take it and go insane, and can't concentrate. Their own insanity kills them in the end, even literally sometimes."

"God, that's terrible…"

"Yup, that's why you're lucky to have moi!"

"Ahahaha, yes. Maybe we should get moving now…"

"Well, you're not going anywhere."

At the sound of a new voice, the doll and Ib looked up. Ib's eyes widened in surprise and fright, and the doll seemed to stiffen up in fear. Their breaths were stuck, and they realized they were in quite an ugly mess.

It was Guertena.

"Hello, little ones," Guertena said to them in his icy voice. His skin was as white as snow (literally), and his eyes were a shocking blood red. The color wasn't anything like the other monster's red eyes—it was much more, much more evil and dark, and you could see the insanity that was in there. His hair was a platinum blonde with red tips, and several black strands of hair were placed. He had an evil grin full of malice spread across his pale face, the whites of his teeth shining.

"Ah…" Ib tried to speak, but she couldn't. It was as if her air circulation was getting cut off. It was as if his icy stare could freeze people in one glance—and if that was actually true, Ib wouldn't have surprised. She was forcing her knees to stand up, since they felt like they were beginning to deteriorate and break one by one, and this was all just because of the presence of Guertena before her.

"Have you been enjoying yourselves? It's all very fun, it's it?" Guertena asked them with an evil happiness. He began laughing manically, his insane laughs filling up the entire room, ringing off the shadowed walls. It rang in her ears, just like in the doll room. She could tell she would have to get away, or she would be affected much, much worse than when she was in the doll room, and that was saying something serious.

Ib and the doll couldn't say a word.

When Guertena didn't hear anything, he abruptly stopped laughing. His face started twitching. "What?" He asked harshly. It was so cold Ib flinched, and considering his voice was already icy enough, that was saying something. "You don't _like it?_ I put so much _work_ into it and you don't even _like it?"_ His eyes were flashing now, and his face was twisted madly. _**"You don't LIKE IT?!"**_ Guertena screamed. Ib and the doll flinched silently again, and Guertena exploded.

"**I put SO MUCH WORK into this, and WHAT DO I GET?! YOUR STUPID OPINIONS!"** He was screaming so loudly now it was bouncing off the walls. The pitch of his voice was swerving around, making him seem like he was losing his mind. **"I HATE YOU! I JUST WANT YOU TO DIE! YOUR BLOOD WILL LOOK SO MUCH BETTER ON THE FLOOR, YOU DAMN BITCHES!"** He brought out two sharp canvas knives and advanced toward Ib, bringing his hand down to stab her.

She was going to die.

She was going to die, and she wouldn't be able to save him.

She couldn't—she couldn't—!

Guertena was knocked straight out of her view by a blurred kick. He skidded across to the side, nearly stabbing himself in the gut in his fall. Now, standing in front of her was a tall man in a long, black coat. A hood was pulled over his face so you couldn't see his face. "I'm a friend. Please, we have to hurry!" It was obviously a male voice, and it sounded familiar. Way too familiar.

He grabbed her arms and pulled her up. The doll jumped on Ib's shoulder as she stood up, ran across their linked arms, and onto the man's shoulder. "We have to get going. Get ready to run as fast as you can!" The man braced her. She gulped and heard Guertena scream again, which made the pair burst off into the abyss of darkness that was the hallway.

"**YOU WON'T GET AWAY!"**

Ib was running like the painted ladies were hot on her trail. Her legs were moving at top speed once more, breathing heavily. She was never one to be the fastest on the mile at school. She wasn't sporty, or a runner either. She was just blessed with a fit body, but now, she wished she was so much stronger. "Duck!" She heard the person ahead of her scream. She could barely hear it, because of the wind of them running rushing through her ears. She ducked as she said and felt something whiz over her head, and a crash resonated behind her. Whatever it was, it had crashed and stuck itself in a wall.

"What was that?" Her talking was breathless, since she was trying to breathe as much as she could. "A butcher's knife," the man replied nonchalantly, as if they used that all the time. "Actually, they use it a little too much..."He muttered the last part, so Ib wasn't able to hear him. "We're almost there, just a little longer!" The man informed her as they ran through mannequins, dolls, and paintings alike.

Finally, they had reached a room that still had dark walls, but for some reason, it didn't feel evil. It felt rather… Homey. It smelled like the man, too. It had a bed with a pillow and a blanket, and small bookcase off to the size. Next to the bed was a stand, and had a little bed on it as well. It looked like it would fit the doll's size. As Ib looked around the room, her eyes laid on the bed and her eyes widened.

On the bed was a purple coat with ragged edges, and she only knew one person in her entire life who wore it.

Garry.

If it was Garry's coat that was on the bed… Then… It all made sense. It made so much sense, and she was so happy.

She turned toward the man who was lowering his hood, and she saw what she wanted to see. It was Garry, in the flesh and blood, smiling at her like there the sun was shining.

Garry.

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**Sooo...what did you guys think? Review? Please?**

**Hope you liked it! Chap 3 will be up soon!**

**~AnimeCraze8 & GirlwithHeadPhones88**


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